U.S. patent number 5,582,303 [Application Number 08/367,592] was granted by the patent office on 1996-12-10 for clothes rod support bracket.
Invention is credited to Stewart E. Sloan.
United States Patent |
5,582,303 |
Sloan |
December 10, 1996 |
Clothes rod support bracket
Abstract
A clothes rod support bracket including a metal strap having two
bends therein to form a vertical back portion, a horizontal shelf
supporting portion, and a depending front portion. A hook portion
depends and projects forwardly from the front portion and has an
arcuate lip projecting forwardly from the forward end thereof. The
lip is oriented generally horizontally to support a clothes rod
thereon. A second embodiment of the invention omits the back
portion and cross-brace and has openings in the horizontal portion
for fastening the horizontal portion to a shelf.
Inventors: |
Sloan; Stewart E. (Omaha,
NE) |
Family
ID: |
23447809 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/367,592 |
Filed: |
January 3, 1995 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
211/105.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47G
25/0692 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47G
25/06 (20060101); A47G 25/00 (20060101); A47F
007/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;211/90,123,105.1
;248/251 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Chin-Shue; Alvin C.
Assistant Examiner: Purol; Sarah L.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Zarley, McKee, Thomte, Voorhees
& Sease Thomte; Dennis L.
Claims
I claim:
1. A clothes rod support bracket for supporting an elongated,
horizontally disposed clothes rod thereon having at least one
clothes hanger slidably mounted thereon, said clothes hanger having
a supporting hook at its upper end which extends over said clothes
rod and which has a depending hook end positioned below said
clothes rod, comprising:
a rigid strap member having a horizontally disposed portion, with
inner and outer ends, and a generally vertically disposed forward
portion extending downwardly from the outer end of said
horizontally disposed portion, said forward portion having upper
and lower ends;
a hook portion at the lower end of said forward portion and
extending downwardly, forwardly, and thence upwardly therefrom;
and a clothes rod supporting lip portion projecting generally
horizontally from the upper end of the upwardly extending portion
of said hook portion;
said lip portion of said bracket being spaced outwardly of said
vertically disposed portion a distance sufficient to receive the
said hook end of said hanger mounted on the clothes rod;
said lip portion of said bracket being adapted to receive and
support said clothes rod thereon such that the clothes hanger hung
on said clothes rod on said lip portion will have its said
depending hook end hanging downwardly between said vertically
disposed portion and said horizontally disposed portion and freely
slidable along the clothes rod.
2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said lip portion of said
bracket is arcuate so as to correspond to the curvature of the
clothes rod mounted thereon.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to clothes rod support brackets,
and more particularly to support brackets which include portions
for supporting both a clothes rod and a shelf.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Rods for hanging clothes in closets have been utilized for many,
many years, and typically are supported on each end by various
brackets attached to the side walls of the closet. It is also
conventional to utilize some type of intermediate brackets between
the side walls in order to provide additional support for the
clothes rod. However, it has long been a problem to provide an
intermediate support bracket which does not interfere with the
sliding of hangers on the clothes rod. There have been a variety of
patents for hang rod assemblies which attempt to solve this problem
by providing a specially designed rail which is mounted on the
projecting ends of various brackets. The major drawback of such
devices is the fact that a conventional, economical clothes rod
cannot be used in combination with such brackets. Rather, the
clothes rod in those inventions must be specially designed for the
specific bracket upon which it is used. Thus, there is no possible
interchangeability of clothes rods for conventional brackets on the
market today.
The clothes rod support brackets which overcome the problem of
interference with sliding hangers on the clothes rod suffer yet
another problem. They will not provide support for a shelf above
the clothes rod. Because many items placed on closet shelves extend
beyond the shelf, a shelf must be positioned above the clothes rod
so that overhanging items do not interfere with the hangers or
clothes.
It is therefore a general object of the present invention to
provide an improved clothes rod support bracket.
Yet another object is to provide a bracket which will support a
conventional cylindrical clothes rod.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a bracket
which will support a clothes rod in a manner such that the bracket
does not interfere with hangers sliding along the rod.
Yet another object is to provide an intermediate clothes rod
support bracket which will also support a shelf at a height above
the clothes rod.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the
art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The clothes rod support bracket of this invention includes a metal
strap having two bends therein to form a vertical back portion, a
horizontal shelf-supporting portion, and a depending front portion.
A cross-brace is connected between the back portion and the front
portion for additional strength. A hook portion depends and
projects forwardly from the front portion and has an arcuate lip
projecting forwardly therefrom. The lip is oriented generally
horizontally to support a clothes rod thereon. Hangers on the
clothes rod will slide freely along the rod, with the free end of
the hook of the hanger depending freely into the hook portion of
the bracket.
A second embodiment of the invention omits the back portion and
cross-brace and has openings in the horizontal portion for
fastening the horizontal portion to a shelf. Thus, in locations
where the wall will not provide support, the bracket may be
attached to a shelf to support the clothes rod .
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the present
invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the present
invention;
FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the embodiment of the present
invention shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the embodiment of the present
invention shown in FIG. 2 and
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of two embodiments of the present
invention as utilized in a conventional closet.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to the drawings, in which similar or corresponding
parts are identified by the same reference numeral, the combination
clothes rod and shelf support bracket of this invention is
designated generally at 10 and is fastened to a vertical wall 12 to
support a shelf 14 and a conventional clothes rod 16, as shown in
FIG. 5.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the interior of a conventional
closet and shows clothes rod 16 supported at one end by a
conventional cup-shaped wall bracket 18 which is fastened to a
vertical side wall 20. A similar cup-shaped wall bracket is affixed
to the opposite wall (not shown) so as to support both ends of
clothes rod 16. In order to prevent the clothes rod from sagging or
otherwise deforming, intermediate supporting brackets are
utilized.
FIG. 5 shows two embodiments of the present invention, the first
embodiment designated as bracket 10, and the second embodiment
designated as bracket 60 (to be described in more detail
hereinbelow). It is noted that in situations where the side walls
20 of a closet are not utilized to support clothes rod 16,
additional brackets 10 could be fastened to the back wall 12 at
each end of the clothes rod 16 for support of the ends.
Referring now to FIGS. 1, 3 and 5, bracket 10 of this invention is
formed from two separate elements fastened together into a single
integral unit. One element is a metal strap designated generally at
22, having a first right angle bend 24, forming a vertical back
member 26 and a horizontal member 28. A second right angle bend 30,
at the opposite end of horizontal member 28, forms a short vertical
front member 32 generally parallel to back member 26. Back member
26 is provided with at least two apertures 34, one adjacent the
upper end and one adjacent the lower end, through which screws 36
are fastened into back wall 12 of the closet. Horizontal member 28
of bracket 10 is also provided with apertures 38 through which
screws 40 may be fastened into shelf 14.
The second element of bracket 10 is a metal cross-brace 42,
preferably of the same strap material as strap 22. Cross-brace 42
is inclined and fastened by welding or the like at its lower end 44
to the lower end of back member 26, and at its upper end 46 to
front portion 32 of bracket 10. Front portion 32 extends downwardly
and thence forwardly to form a hook portion 48, having an arcuate
bottom 50 and a generally vertical forward end 51.
The forward end 51 of hook portion 48 is bent at 52 to form a
generally horizontally-oriented arcuate lip 54. Arcuate lip 54
subscribes an arc having a radius substantially equal to the radius
of clothes rod 16, so that the lower portion of clothes rod 16 will
fit against the arcuate portion of lip 54, as shown in FIG. 3. It
is preferred that the width of lip 54 be less than the diameter of
clothes rod 16 such that vertical tangents to the periphery of
clothes rod 16 will not intersect any portion of lip 54. In this
way, depending end 53 of the hook 55 of a hanger 57 will extend
downwardly towards the bottom 50 of hook portion 48, and will not
interfere with any portion of bracket 10.
Lip 54 of bracket 10 has an aperture through which a screw 58 may
be fastened directly into the clothes rod 16. It can be seen that
clothes rod 16 may be a conventional wood, cylindrical clothes rod,
and does not require any special shape. Front portion 32 of bracket
10 is of a length great enough to locate clothes rod 16 below shelf
14. Hook portion 48, lip 54, and front member 32 are designed to
have dimensions such that bracket 10 may replace any conventional
shelf and clothes rod bracket (which would interfere with hangers
sliding therealong). Replacing the conventional brackets in a
closet allows hangers to be slid along the clothes rod 16 without
interference yet does not require changing the height of the rod,
nor any other modifications to the existing shelf or walls.
Referring now to FIG. 4, the second embodiment of the invention is
designated generally at 60 and is designed for use in situations
where bracket 10 may not be adequately fastened to back wall 12'.
In such situations, shelf 14' is typically supported at its
rearward edge by a horizontally extending support member 61
fastened to wall 12', in a conventional manner. Thus, shelf 14' is
sufficiently rigid to assist in supporting clothes rod 16'.
The second embodiment of the invention, designated generally at 60,
is formed from a single metal strap 62 having a right angle bend 64
therein, forming a horizontal member 66 and a vertical forward
member 68. Horizontal member 66 has a pair of apertures 70 therein
through which fasteners 72 may be fastened to shelf 14'. Vertical
forward member 68 is oriented adjacent the forward edge of shelf
14' and extends downwardly and curves forwardly and up to form a
hook portion 74, similar to the hook portion 48 of the first
embodiment. Hook portion 74 extends upward generally vertical and
parallel to vertical member 68 and is bent at 76 to form a
horizontally-oriented projecting arcuate lip 78, similar to arcuate
lip 54 of the first embodiment. A fastener 80 may be inserted
through an aperture in arcuate lip 78 to fasten clothes rod 16' to
arcuate lip 78.
Thus, it can be seen that clothes rod 16' may be supported
intermediate its ends by bracket 60 fastened to shelf 14'. The
intermediate support bracket 60 will not interfere with hangers
which are supported on clothes rod 16', because the depending end
53' of a hanger 57' will extend freely into hook portion 74 of
bracket 60.
It can therefore be seen that the invention fulfills at least all
of the above stated objectives.
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